Crutcher: Flyers 'can shock a lot of people’

Fans can watch the entirety of the broadcast of that game, which Dayton won 87-79 thanks in part to 24 points each from Toppin and Crutcher, and a number of other games from last season on YouTube. It’s as good a way as any to relive the magic of a 29-2 season that saw Toppin and Crutcher emerge not only as standout players in the Atlantic 10 Conference who shared the team MVP award but as talents who could earn national praise as well.

With Toppin, the consensus national player of the year, moving on to the NBA, the focus now shifts to his friend and former roommate Crutcher, the point guard who threw him numerous alley-oop passes the last two seasons. Crutcher earned many of his own headlines, too, most memorably when he hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against Saint Louis, and now is in position to cap one of the great careers in UD history.

Already this season, Crutcher has created buzz. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook season preview named him a fourth-team All-American. Andy Katz, of NCAA.com, ranked Crutcher 14th on a list of the top 15 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award.

Of course, like Toppin, Crutcher’s individual success will hinge in part on how the team performs — and he’s confident in the group around him. The Flyers have been working out and practicing for most of the fall but held their first official practice of the 2020-21 season on Thursday.

A 22-second video shared by the team’s official Twitter account showed coach Anthony Grant talking to the Flyers on the court at UD Arena while wearing a mask. All the other coaches in the video wore masks as well. It’s going to be a different season, likely one with few fans in the stands. However, it could be an enjoyable season too if the team can avoid any more injuries — the news of junior guard Dwayne Cohill suffering a season-ending ACL tear is a big blow — as it tries to deliver an encore to a historic season.

“I feel like we’re going to be really good,” Crutcher said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t think so. As far as having Jordy (Tshimanga), Chase (Johnson), Ibi (Watson) and Rodney (Chatman) back, I feel like we are experienced and know what it takes to win. We have a chip on our shoulders because a lot of people don’t think we’re going to be good because Obi left and Trey (Landers) and Ryan (Mikesell) left. I think this team can shock a lot of people.”

A good spring

Crutcher averaged 15.1 points and 4.9 assists last season as a junior. He’s a three-year starter who has scored 1,170 points in three seasons. Crutcher ranks 36th in school history in scoring and ninth with 470 assists.

Crutcher’s junior season ended March 7 when Dayton beat George Washington 76-51 on Senior Nightr for its 20th straight victory. The Atlantic 10 Conference and NCAA tournaments were cancelled five days later, denying the Flyers the chance of building on the best regular season in school history.

“I still think about it to this day,” Crutcher said. “It took me a while to move on from it. You can’t go back to it.”

Everyone went went their separate ways after one last meeting in Dayton upon the return from the A-10 tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y. For Crutcher, that meant traveling home to Memphis, where he was in a better position than most college basketball players all spring.

Crutcher played and worked out in a gym at a church in Memphis twice a week with players such as NBA star Ja Morant, who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, and Ian Clark, who’s from Memphis and won a NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2017.

“It was really good for me,” Crutcher said. “I feel like everything happened for a reason.”

Former Dayton assistant coach James Kane, who’s now at Iowa State, recruited Morant to Murray State and Crutcher to Dayton and had been working for the longest time, Crutcher said, to get the two to meet. Crutcher said he has remained in touch with Morant and other players he got to know in the spring.

“We still talk to this day,” Crutcher said. “It was really good playing against a lot of guys that are already in the league or have been in the league. They were talking to me after we played, after workouts. They were always giving me pointers what I can do to improve my game.”

A new team

Crutcher entered his name in the NBA Draft in March but withdrew his name just before the deadline in August, announcing his decision with a five-word statement: “Dear Dayton fans, I’m back.”

Crutcher said the coronavirus pandemic messed everything up for draft prospects. He didn’t get to work out for any team and thought he would have had a better chance to get drafted if he had.

What Crutcher did learn in talking with NBA teams is he needs to be more active on the defensive end. That’s something he can work on in preseason practices, though Crutcher said the main focus right now for the Flyers is helping the newcomers.

In addition to forward Zimi Nwokeji and center Moulaye Sissoko, who redshirted last season as freshmen, Dayton adds freshman guards Lukas Frazier, Koby Brea and R.J. Blakney to the roster. It’s too early to tell what kind of impact the true freshmen will have, but Crutcher has a better idea of what Nwokeji and Sissoko can bring to the team. Both practiced with the Flyers last season.

Of Nwokeji, Crutcher said, “He’s going to have to get thrown in the fire early because he hasn’t seen the college game yet. He’s going to have to play a lot because we’re going to need him. I think he’s going to be good. We’re going to have to wait and see.”

Of Sissoko, Crutcher said, “Moulaye has got a lot better, especially with all the things coach is trying to teach us as far as defense. He looks a lot more comfortable out there. I think he’s going to help us a lot because he’s really big and physical. I think he’s going to really help us on the rebounding side.”

A good friend

Nwokeji, Sissoko, forward Chase Johnson and redshirt senior center Jordy Tshimanga will try to make up for the loss of Toppin, Dayton’s leading scorer last season and top front-court player. Toppin is expected to be a lottery pick in November. While the draft will be done virtually with the top picks watching at home, Crutcher hopes to be with Toppin on draft night, which takes place Nov. 18, a week before Dayton opens the season.

“He tells me he needs me there in his house,” Crutcher said. “I don’t know. Coach Grant might let me go.”

Crutcher and Toppin, the first two recruits of the Grant era, developed a deep bond the last three years. The pandemic didn’t stop them from seeing each other. Toppin visited Crutcher in Memphis. Crutcher visited Toppin in New York City. Toppin even came to Dayton at one point.

Crutcher and Toppin talk all the time about where Toppin might land in the draft. Of course, the coming season for the Flyers is also a topic. Crutcher was excited to see the bracket for the Crossover Classic released Wednesday. The Flyers finally know who their first opponent will be: Wichita State on Nov. 25 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Until that tournament, unless he gets to go to Toppin’s place for the draft, the world will be small for Crutcher. He said the players are basically in their rooms all day, every day, except for when they’re practicing or going to class. The COVID-19 issues on campus have forced everyone to take extra steps to stay safe.

“We’ve got to do it to have a season,” Crutcher said.